There exist many ways to coat, adhere, adsorb, modify, etc. a surface with a material, such that the material changes the characteristics of the surface. For example, suitable coatings can be prepared that when applied to a given surface render the surface hydrophobic. In other instances, the coating may provide enhanced ability to bind with a target molecule, such as a protein.
In particular, there are known crosslinking materials that include a latent reactive group, such as a photoactivatable group. The crosslinking material has, in general, at least two photoactivatable groups, such that one group can be activated and attached to the surface of the substrate. The remaining latent group, can then later be, or simultaneously with the surface attachment, activated to react with a target molecule such as a polymer or a biomolecule.
There are generally three types of crosslinking materials with photoactivatable groups. One type is hydrophobic in nature, making it difficult to dissolve in an aqueous systems. The second type is hydrophilic, but includes quaternary charged moieties. Quaternary compounds tend to promote non-specific binding of non-target molecules, which is often not a desired result. A third type of crosslinking material with photoactivatable groups includes negatively “charged” groups, such as carboxylic acids, sulfonic acids, phosphoric acids and the like. Although these materials are considered to be hydrophilic, they also increase non-specific binding interactions with non-targeted molecules by the crosslinking material.
Therefore, a need exists for a crosslinking material that includes photoactivatable groups that is hydrophilic in nature and does not promote non-specific binding interactions with non-target molecules.